The Journey:

Keep aside an evening that you intend to do the work in. Eat a light lunch that day, but do not have any dinner. Abstain from drugs and alcohol all day.

Use a quite, dark room, and remove all furniture, or at least, clear a wide area for movement. Light a candle on the floor, where it will not throw too much light.

Go through the steps of the Starting Dance, and Dancing Your Animal. If you have a drummer, have him beat the drum in time to your rattle. If you are using a cassette, shake your rattle in time to the drum. Do this only when you are actually dancing.

Shake your rattle four times in each of the six directions - East, South, West, North, Heaven and Earth). This is done to draw the attention of the spirits of the particular realms.

Next, walk very slowly around your 'patient' four times. Shake the rattle in a slow, but strong and steady tempo. Return to stand besides the patient.

Begin to whistle or hum your power song, and shake your rattle in accompany with it. Do this until you are aware of a slight alteration of consciousness.

Now begin to sing the words to your song, still shaking the rattle along with the beat. Do this until your consciousness alters more. Keep on doing this until you have a strong urge to collapse and lie down on the floor.

Once you are on the floor, push your body against the patient, shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip, and foot-to-foot.

Without delay, cover your eyes with your hand, and begin to shake your rattle just above your chest. The drummer begins beating in time to it.

Shake your rattle at a very fast rate, until you see the entrance to the Lowerworld.

When you go into the entrance, stop shaking your rattle, but your drummer must keep on accompanying you on your journey.

Once you are in the Lowerworld, avoid any non-mammals you might encounter. Specially spiders or swarming insects, or any serpents or fish whose teeth are visible. If you cannot pass by these things, you must return immediately, and try again another time.

Search the landscape of the Lowerworld with your eyes closed, for the power animal you seek. The secret of discovering a power animal, is that it will show itself at least four times in different aspects, or different angles. Do not strain yourself you find the animal. If it is going to show itself to you it will.

After seeing the animal four times, clasp it to your chest immediately with one hand. The animal will come willingly. Holding the animal, pick up your rattle and shake it sharply four times. This signals the drummer to stop drumming for a moment.

Now shake your rattle very rapidly, while the drummer keeps up the tempo set by you.

When you return, set the rattle aside, while still holding the animal to your chest. Rise to your knees, and face the patient. The drummer should stop drumming, as soon as you rise to your knees.

Place your cupped hands on the patients solar plexus, and blow through you hands with all your might to send the spirit into your patient.

Then, with your left hand, raise your patient to a sitting position, and, place your cupped hands on the top rear of the patient's head. Once again, forcefully blow, to send any residue of the power into the head.

Pick up the rattle, and shake it rapidly and sharply in a circle four times around the whole length of the patient's body. This is done to make a unity of the power with the body.

Quietly tell your partner of the identity of the animal you brought back. If the animal is one you do not know, describe it's appearance. Describe all the details of the journey.

Assist the patient to dance the animal that you have just retrieved. As you shake the rattle, gradually increase the tempo in accordance with the patient's movements. The drummer should follow the Shaman's lead. After a while, shake the rattle four times to end the drumming and the dance.

Gently assist your patient to a sitting position on the floor, with a reminder to dance the animal regularly to encourage it to stay.

POWER PRACTISES:

Consulting a Power Animal:

The Power Animal can be consulted in order to obtain advise on problems. This is commonly called "divination". To do this, simply journey to the Lowerworld to see your animal. Your Power Animal is usually quite close by, and you won't have to journey far, before you see it. Quite often, it is at the end of the tunnel.

When you see your power animal, silently greet it, and pose your question. Most often, the power animal will provide the answer by moving it's body in an unusual way. However, sometimes, it may lead you on a journey. The experiences on the journey will be relevant to your answer.

The first few times you do this, it is best to keep your answers simple, so that they may be answered in a 'yes' or 'no' form. When you become more experienced in understanding the animal's language, the questions can be more complicated.

You should keep some form of dairy in which to record your shamanistic experiences. These you should record as soon as you finish a journey, so that the memory is still clear.

You need not wait until you have a problem before you undertake a journey to see your animal guardian. It is beneficial to visit without posting questions. You will find positive things happening in your life around such visits.

By Silver Circle